Road-scraper



G. N. MILLER.

Pat ted Nov. 13,1888.

.(No Model.) I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. l

G. N. MILLER.

' ROAD SGRAPBR.

No. 392,965. Patented wv. 13.1888

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

G. N. MILLER.

ROAD SGRAPER.

N0. 392,965. Patented 13, 1888.

GEORGE N. MILLER, OF ASHTON, ASSIGNOR TO FREDERICK O. AUSTIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ROADf-SCRAPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,965, dated November 13, 1888,

Application filed May 28, 1888.

.To aZZ whomI may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE N. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ashton, in the county of Lee and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Impiovement in Road-Scraping Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The more prominent obj ects of my invention are, first, to utilize the back pull of the scraper as a means for raising the tongue, so as to relieve the necks of the horses from the weight of the tongue; second, to utilize the weight or resistance of the wheeled body-frame to the drawing-power as a means for assisting in raising the tongue, so as to greatly relieve the necks of the horses from the weight of the tongue; third, to utilize the said back pull of the scraper and resistance of the wheeled bodyframe conjointly as means for relieving the necks of the horses from the weight of the tongue; fourth, to provide a simple and efficient arrangement of king-bolt, whereby, in addition to certain features of improvement incident to its arrangement, the dropping of the king-bolt out of place shall be rendered impossible; fifth, to dispense, if desired, with the employment of springs heretofore used to assist an attendant on the machine in lifting the scraper and necessitating renewal when weakened by usage and to permit the attendant while using the power of his arms as a means for operating any suitable scraper raising and lowering device to further utilize either foot-pressure or his ent-ire weight as auxiliary means for lifting the scraper; sixth, to provide convenient and efficient means for swinging a suspended scraper toward'either side of the machine, and, further, to permit an attendant standing upon the machine toutilize his foot for such purpose, whereby his hands may be left free for controlling the scraper raising and lowering device; seventh, to provide certain novel and improved details, all serving to increase the general efficiency of road-scraping machines.

To the attainment of the foregoing and other useful ends the scraper and the tongue are connected together by a vibratory lever, so` that during operation the back pull or resistance of the scraper to the draft shall serve to raise the tongue. As au auxiliary to such ar- Serial No. 275,406. (No model.)

rangement, the forward portion of the bodyframe is connected with said lever, whereby the weight that is to be drawn may be utilized to aid the scraper in raising the tongue, it be- 5 5 ing, however, understood that such action on the part of the body-frame may simply relieve the scraper to some extent, since the scraper can be utilized as the sole means for raising the tongue and maintaining the same raised 6o so long as the scraper is at work. When, however, the scraper is lifted from the ground, the resistance of the body-frame and its adjuncts serves to greatly relieve the necks of the horses from the weight of the tongue.

The scraper may be raised and lowered by any ordinary or suitable raising and lowering device arranged subject to the control of an attendant standing upon the machine, and as a means for assisting the attendant in raising 7o the heavy scraper a foot-treadle is connected in any proper mechanical way with the scraper and arranged within reach of the foot of the attendant,who,while using his arms for operating the raising and lowering device, may step upon the foot-treadle, and, if desired, throw his entire weight thereon, in which way, in addition to the force he may employ in operating the raising and lowering device for the purpose of raising the scraper, .he may further 8o throw in his weight to assist him in such operation.

Where the scraper is carried at the rear end of a laterally-swinging reach or draft-bar and suitably suspended so that the draft-bar and hence the scraper may be swung to either side of the machine, I have herein provided in con` nection with the suspended scraper a foot. lever connected with the draft-bar or such laterally-swinging support as maybe employed 9o for carrying the scraper, said foot-lever being extended back to within convenient reach of an attendant standing upon the machine, in which way, while he may employ his hands for controlling some ordinary or suitable scraper raising and lowering device, he can readily utilize his foot as a means for swinging the scraper to either side of the machine. In this connection it may be observed that for certain work it is desirable not to force the roo scraper to a certain depth into the ground and lock it at such depth, but to simply control the scraper by a pressure subject to the will and judgment of the attendant, and hence during such work his hands are employed in controlling the levers, hand-wheels, or like devices employed for operating the scraper raising and lowering device.

Certain details constituting further matters of improvement are hereinafter described in connection with the drawings, in which* Figure l represents in side elevation a roadscraping machine embodying the principles of my invention. Fig. 2 represents on a larger scale a longitudinal section taken on a vertical central plane through the forward portion of the machine, parts of which are, however, shown in elevation. Fig. 8 is a detail representing a connection between the tongue and both the axle and the king-bolt. Fig. 4 is a top plan View of Fig. 2, with the portion of the scraper shown in said Fig. 2 omitted. Fig. 5 is a detail showing a section taken transversely through the tongue at a point just in front of its connection with the axle and kingbolt. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the rear half of the machine and serves to illustrate the foot-treadle. Fig. 7 represents the devices of Fig. 6 in part side elevation and part longitudinal central section on a vertical plane. Fig. 8 is a detail. representing in rear View the rack for holding the lever Ein its adjustment, said lever being shown in crosssection.

The road -scraping machine herein illustrated includes in its structure a wheel-supported body-frame, A, a tongue, B, and a scraper, C. The tongue and scraper are connected through the medium of the king-bolt D, which is su p ported upon the front axle and capable of a suitable extent of vibratory play, so that during operation the .back pull of the scraper upon the king-bolt serves to raise the tongue and hence take the weightof the latter off the horses.

The connection between the scraper and the king-bolt is attained by the reach or draftbar E, which at its forward end is loosely fitted upon the king-bolt and at its rear end attached to the scraper. The loose connection between the draft-bar and the king-bolt permits said connection to adapt itself to the tilt or the vibratory movement of the king-bolt, and further permits the draft-barA to be swung to either side, as may be required in throwing the scraper toward either side of the machine. The forward end of the body-frame is also connected with the king-bolt, to which end the king-bolt extends up through and has a bearing in the forward end portion, c, of the bodyframe. rEhe king-boltalso extends np through and has a bearing in the bent bar F, (see Fig. 5,) which is clipped upon the axle and adapted to provide a seat or bearing for the aforesaid forward end portion, c, of the body-frame, in which way, while the body-frame is pivotally supported at its forward end, the king-bolt will be steadied and held in place upon the axle by the bar F, which also affords a seat or bearing for the forward end of the body-frame. Theking-boltis at its lowerendprovided with an eye, d, which can be slipped upon the axle and readilyshifted along thesame untilbrought into proper position. By sueh'arrangement the axle provides a simple and substantial pivotal support for the king-bolt and permits such tilt or vibratory play of the latter as may be necessary to allow the back pull of the scraper to raise the tongue from its lowered position, as indicated in full lines, Fig. 2, to the raised position indicated in dotted lines in said ligure.

The tongue is at its rearend preferably provided with any suitably-constructed rear extension, through which the king-bolt can pass, a simple and convenient arrangement being to secure to the upper side of the tongue a plate, b, which extends somewhat back of the rear terminal of the tongue, in order to engage the king-bolt which extends up through a hole in the rear end portion of the plate. The tongue is also attached to the axle and may be connected therewith in various ways. ln the present illustration a plate, b, is secured to the under side of the tongue and at its rear end provided with a pair of eyes or collars, b2, which set back from the rear terminal of the tongue sufficiently to permit them to engage upon the axle. With this arrangement the eye portion dof the king-bolt is embraced between the eyes or collars b2 of the tongue, which said eyes or collars b2 may therefore provide bearings for the sides of the eye portion of the king-bolt.

rIhe tongue is braced by brace-bars b3, which are herein shown 'secured both to the tongue and to the end portions of the bar F, whereby the clips employed to secure the bar F upon the tongue may likewise be employed to hold the rear ends of the brace-bars b3 in rigid connection with their allotted seats upon the bar F. No limitation, however, is hereinimposed upon the foregoing-described arrangement of braces, since, if desired, the braces could at their rear ends be attached directly to the axle.

To cause the back pull of the scraperto raise the tongue, the latter is connected with the king-bolt by a link or chain, G, which is at its forward end conveniently attached to the pivot or bolt 71 by which the doubletree or evener is pivoted upon the tongue at a point somewhat forward of the king-bolt, said chain being at its rear end connected with the upper end portion of the king-bolt, in which way the back pull of the draft-bar E upon the king-bolt tends to pull back the king-bolt, and the latter, acting as a lever, will, through the medium of the chain or link G, readily raise the tongue. By such arrangement the draft from the evener or doubletree to the axle through the medium of the tongue and the draft from the evener to the king-bolt through the hammer-chai n G properly balance, itbeing seen that the axle and the upper porioo IIO

tion of the king-bolt are both at substantially the same distance from the middle ofthe evener.

As an auxiliary to means suitable for rais-v ing and lowering the scrapcr,so as to vary its scraping depth or lift it clear off the ground, I provide in connection with the scraper a treadle, I, which is fulcrumed upon the bodyframe and arranged so that it may be conveniently operated by the foot of an attendant standing upon the rear platform, H. This treadle may be constructed in any suitable way, and can at its forward end be connected with the scraper through various mechanically arranged connections, so that when the attendant is about to operate the scraper raising and lowering device for the purpose of lifting the scraper he can step upon the rear end of the treadle and thereby utilize his weightas an auxiliary to the force he may employ in lifting the heavy scraper or as a counter-balance to the weight of the scraper.

As a convenient way of supporting the treadle I, it is herein shown arranged upon a shaft, t', which in turn is supported by the body-frame. The treadle may be rigid upon said shaft and the latter journaled so as to act as a rock-shaft; or, if desired, said shaft may be rigid with its bearings, in which ease the treadle will be permitted to rock upon the shaft. The portion of the treadle back of the shaft or pivoti forms the long arm of the treadle or foot-lever, whereby the Weight of the attendant may be utilized to great advantage, it being evidentthat by simply pressing with one foot upon the long arm of the treadle considerable weight can be raised by its short arm, and hence that the necessity for a spring to assist in lifting the scraper can be obviated, although as a matter of course the foot treadle could be used in connection with a floating scraperthat is to say, a scraper subject to a spring which opposes a yielding resistance to the weight of the scraper and which is a wellknown expedient in connection with scrapers in road-grading machines, the sickle-bars in harvesters, and plows or cultivator-points in various agricultural implements.

The connection between the reach or draftbar E and the king-bolt permits the reach to be swung laterally to either side, so as to carry the scraper bodily in the arc of a circle, and thereby change its working position relatively to the road, the king-bolt in such case being the pivotal center about which the scraper is swung. As a means for conveniently swinging the reach or draft-bar to attain such end, said draft-bar is in effect provided with a rear extension, E', which extends back so as to place the rear end of such extension within convenient reach of the foot of an attendant standing upon the rear platform, H. rIhe rear extension, E', of the reach is preferably formed by a bar, which is pivoted near its forward end upon the cross rod or shaft i by a pivot, c, in which case its forward end is desirably coupled with the draft-bar proper, E, by a sliding connectionsuch as by a pivot, e-iixed upon one of said members and arranged to extend through a slot, e2, in the other member, as in Figs. 6 and 7, in which way when the horizontally or nearly horizontally arranged bar E is operated about its pivot the said slid- `ingjoint will adapt itself to the different arcs described by the rear end of the bar E and the forward end of the bar E.

As a means for locking the draft-bar E, so as to hold the scraperin position, the treadle I is provided with a rack, i?, and the bar E' is extended under and adapted to engage said rack. The rear end of the draft-bar E can be guided by a guide provided upon the forward portion of the-treadle, to which end the treadle is at its forward end provided with a crossbar, i3, having a curved slot, i4, through which the pin or pivot e on the draft-bar rises, it being observed that with such arrangement the curvature of the slot corresponds to the arc described by the rear end of the draft-bar E when the latter is swung laterally, in which way the connection between the scraper and the curved guide has a shifting connection with said guide.

The raising and lowering mechanism herein shown comprisesapair of levers, K, fulcrumed upon standards on the main frame, and hangers L, pivotallysuspended from the levers and vcarrying rollers for supporting a bar, M, con-- nected in any known or suitable way with the scraper, or a turntable carrying the scraper. The levers K extend within convenient reach of an attendant standing upon the platform H, whereby while he mayoperate the levers by hand he can with his foot either operate the bar or foot-lever E to swing the draft-bar laterally or depress the rear end of the treadle to assist him in raising the scraper by the levers K, it being in this latter connection observed that the ljoint formed lby the pivot e and the slot eZ readily adapts itself to the different relative angles of the bars E and E', and also permits the treadle to be tilted, so as to raise the scraper. I do not, however, limit myself to the raising and lowering levers and hangers herein shown, since other construct-ions of raising and lowering devices may be employed in connection with the treadle.

In conclusion, I desire to state that while the king-bolt hereinbefore described serves as a preferred device for providing a vibratory lever with which the tongue and scraper are connected, and which I claim as a feature of improvement, I do not limit myself to the use of the king-bolt for the broadest purpose of this application, sincev the principle involved is a vibratory lever suitably fnlcrumed at the forward end of the machine and constituting a connection between the tongue and scraper, for purposes hereinbefore set forth. It will also be obvious that while the chain or link connection between the king-bolt and the tongue is an exceedingly simple and comparatively inexpensive eonnection, the interposition of any draft-connection involving either a straight pull or a pull through means for multiplying the leverage could be used with like effect, and hence that a great variety of connections between the said lever and the tongue, as well as between the scraper and the said lever, could be made by an experienced lmechanic without involving further experiment.

Vhat I claim as my invention isl. In a road-scraping machine, the combi'- nation, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the tongue and scraper connected by a vibratory lever, whereby the resistance of the scraper to the advancement of the machine shall serve to raise the tongue, for the purpose described.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the pole and the draftbar carrying a scraper, of the vibratory kingbolt supported upon the axle and connected with both the tongue and the draft-bar.

3. r1`he combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the tongue, the draft-bar carrying a scraper, the vibratory king-bolt connected with the draft-bar, and ,the chain connecting the king-bolt with the tongue at a point forward of the king-bolt.

4. -The combination, substantially as described, of the vibratoryking-bolt, the tongue provided with a plate, b, which extends back from and is engaged by the king-bolt, and the draft-bar carrying a scraper and connected with the king-bolt.

5. The combination, with the tongue and the vibratory king-bolt connected therewith, of the body-frame of the machine connected at its forward end with the vibratory king-bolt, whereby the back pull of the body-frame on the king-bolt shall tend to raise the tongue, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. The combination, with the tongue and the vibratory king-bolt connected therewith, of the body-frameand the draft-bar that carries a scraper, both connected with said vibratory king-bolt, whereby the back pull of the body-frame and scraper shall conjointly serve to raise the tongue.

7. The combination, with the front axle, of

y the seat F, secured upon the axle, the bodyframe having its forward portion supported upon said seat, and the vibratory king-bolt supported upon the front axle and extending up through both said seat and said forward portion of the body-frame, substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. The combination, with the front axle, of the king-bolt D, having an eye, d, which is slipped upon the axle, substantially as described.

9. rllhe combination,with the front axle and the vibratory king-bolt, of the tongue counected both with the axle and with the vibrascraping machine, of a connterbalance device consisting of a foot-treadle having its short arm suitably connected with the scraper and its long arm arranged in position to permit an attendanton the machine to step upon said long arm of the foot-treadle and thereby place his weight in opposition to the weight of the scraper, substantially as set forth. 1

l1. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the scraper carried by a laterally-swinging support, of a vibratory foot-lever arranged for throwing the scrapersupport to either side of the machine, for the purpose described.

12. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the laterally-swinging draft-bar and scraper connected therewith a-nd the'foot-treadle applied for raising the scraper.

13. The combination, with the laterallyswinging draft-bar E and thescraper connected therewith, of the vibratory footlever E, for swinging the draftbar, substantially as described.

14. The combination, with the scraper and a scraper raising and lowering device, of an auxiliary raising and lowering device consisting of a foot-treadle connected with the scraper, substantially as set forth.

15. The combination, with the scraper carried by a laterally-swinging support, of the vibratory bar E', connected with the scrapersupport by a sliding connection, substantially as described.

16. The combination, with the foot-treadle having one arm arranged to receive the weight of an attendant and having its other arm provided with a curved guide,'of the scraper and a connection between the scraper and the curved guide, having a shifting connection with said curved guide, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

17. The combination, with the scraper and the foot-treadle constituting an auxiliary raising and lowering device, of the pivot e upon a laterally movable support, to which the scraper is attached, the vibratory bar E', having a slot in which said pivot is received, and a curved slotted guide provided upon the foottreadle andlikewise receiving said pivot e', substantially as described.

GEORGE N. MILLER.

"Witnesses:

CHAs. G. PAGE, N. DIcxINsoN.

ICO

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